# 9K34 Strela-3

The 9K34 Strela-3 (Russian: 9К34 «Стрела-3», 'arrow', NATO reporting name: SA-14 Gremlin) is a man-portable air defense missile system (MANPADS) developed in the Soviet Union as a response to the poor performance of the earlier 9K32 Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail) system. The missile was largely based on the earlier Strela 2, and thus development proceeded rapidly. The new weapon was accepted into service in the Soviet Army in January 1974.

## Description

The most significant change over the Strela 2 was the introduction of an all-new infra-red homing seeker head. The new seeker worked on FM modulation (con-scan) principle, which is less vulnerable to jamming and decoy flares than the earlier AM (spin-scan) seekers, which were easily fooled by flares and even the most primitive infrared jammers. The new seeker also introduced detector element cooling in the form of a pressurized nitrogen bottle attached to the launcher.
The effect of cooling was to expand the seeker's lead sulfide detector element's sensitivity range to longer wavelengths (slightly over 4 μm as opposed to 2.8 μm of uncooled PbS elements). In practice this made possible the tracking of cooler targets over longer ranges, and enabled forward-hemisphere engagement of jets under favourable circumstances. The seeker also had better tracking rate, enabling the missile to track maneuvering of fast and approaching targets.
A negative side effect from the aforementioned improvements was increased missile weight, which caused a slight decrease in the kinematic performance of the original Strela-2 (SA-7). Against relatively slow, low-altitude battlefield air threats the overall effectiveness was much improved.
Strela-3 missiles have been exported to over 30 countries.
The original Strela-3 missile was the 9M36. The follow-on to the Strela-3 was Igla.
The naval version of this missile has the NATO reporting name of SA-N-8.

## Operational history
### Iraq

On 22 November 2003 an Airbus A300 cargo plane was hit by a Strela-3 missile after takeoff from Baghdad International Airport, but managed to land safely despite losing hydraulic power.
On 6 May 2006, a British Westland Lynx AH.7 of the Royal Navy from 847 Squadron was shot down with a Strela-3 over Basra, killing five crewmen and crashing into a house.

### Georgia

During the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by a Georgian Army SA-14 on December 14, 1992, resulting in the death of 3 crew and 58 passengers, most of them Russian refugees. A Georgian Air Force Su-25 was shot down over Nizhnaya Eshera on 4 July 1993 by SA-14, and several other aircraft on both sides may have been shot down by SA-14s.

### Former Yugoslavia

A British Sea Harrier FRS1 of 801 Naval Air Squadron, operating from aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal on 16 April 1994, was shot down during its attack on two Republika Srpska T-55 tanks in Bosnia. The pilot, Lieutenant Nick Richardson, ejected and landed in territory controlled by friendly Bosnian Muslims.

### DRC Congo

A Zimbabwe Air Force Il-76 was shot down by Congolese rebels using an SA-14 on 11 October 1998 during the Second Congo War, resulting in the death of 40 troops and crew.

### Afghanistan

SA-14s used by the Northern Alliance are credited with having shot down 8 Taliban MiG-21 and Su-22 fighters during the Taliban's 2000 offensive against Taloqan.

### Turkey

A SA-14 (9K34 Strela-3) MANPADS was found during Operation Claw (2019-2020) in June 2019 in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq belonging to the PKK.

## Operators
### Current

* Angola
* Azerbaijan
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Cuba
* Georgia
* Iran
* Jordan
* Nicaragua
* North Korea
* Peru
* Russia − Used by Ground Forces and Airborne units.
* Syria
* Turkmenistan
* Ukraine

### Non-state

* Hezbollah
* Houthis
* Islamic State
* Kurdistan Workers' Party

### Former

* Armenia
* Belarus
* Bulgaria − Produced under license.
* Czechoslovakia
* Czech Republic
* East Germany – Never acquired to military service.
* Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
* Finland
* Germany − Former East German stock, used for training only.
* Hungary
* India
* Iraq
* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Moldova
* Poland
* South Africa
* Soviet Union
* Tajikistan
* United Arab Emirates – Used by the Abu Dhabi Royal Guard.
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam

### Non-state former

* Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
* Jamiat-e Islami
* Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
* Revolutionary United Front
* UNITA – Captured from MPLA and Cuban forces in late 1987.

## Comparison chart

| System | 9K32M Strela-2M (missile: 9M32M) | 9K34 Strela-3 (missile: 9M36) | FIM-43C Redeye |
| Service entry | 1968 | 1974 | 1968 |
| Mass, full system, ready to shoot | 15 kg | 16 kg | 13.3 kg |
| Weight, missile | 9.8 kg | 10.3 kg | 8.3 kg |
| Length | 1.44 m | 1.47 m | 1.40 m |
| Warhead | 1.15 kg (0.37 kg HMX) directed-energy blast fragmentation | 1.17 kg (0.39 kg HMX) directed-energy blast fragmentation, including a 20g secondary charge to set off remaining rocket propellant | 1.06 kg M222 (0.36 kg HTA-3) blast fragmentation |
| Seeker type | AM-modulated (spin scan), uncooled PbS detector element (1–2.8 μm sensitivity range). Tail-chase only. | FM-modulated (con scan), nitrogen-cooled PbS detector element (2–4.3 μm sensitivity range). Limited forward hemisphere (all-aspect) capability | AM-modulated, gas-cooled PbS detector element. Tail-chase only. |
| Maximum range | 4,200 m | 4,500 m | 4,500 m |
| Speed | 430 m/s | 470 m/s | 580 m/s |
| Target's maximum speed, approaching/receding | 150/260 m/s | 310/260 m/s | –/225 m/s |
| Engagement altitude | 0.05–2.3 km | 0.03–3.0 km | 0.05–2.7 km |